


Celebrations and Conversations

by madamoiselle_sica



Series: Sica's Fair Game Week 2020 [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Childhood Trauma, Fix-It, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, Section of a larger story, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:40:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23224915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madamoiselle_sica/pseuds/madamoiselle_sica
Summary: Fair Game Week 2020: Day 5: Hurt/Comfort“Because it felt like a curse, I almost killed myself, okay!” Clover spoke with anger, mostly at himself and a bit louder than usual and Tai was stunned. However, Qrow had walked in the back door to hear that last thing that was said.“You what?” Clover turned to see Qrow and all color left Clover's face.Tai was finishing up one of the dishes for dinner and pulled the pot off the stove. “I think I will go check on the kids.” And he walked out the back door.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen & Clover Ebi, Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Series: Sica's Fair Game Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1667482
Comments: 3
Kudos: 30





	Celebrations and Conversations

**Author's Note:**

> Setting the scene. All of the characters are in Patch, on their way to Beacon, after they have been to Vacuo and now have the sword of destruction and the staff of creation with them. Clover returns to the scene in Vacuo about a month after they left. Thank you Atlas tech and Pietro for saving Clover, just like they did Ironwood. DD is the name of the giraffe Faunus headmaster of Shade(Original character). They spent a little more than a month in Vaccuo, and about 2 and half months in Atlas, by my count. They have been traveling for about a week. So they are getting ready for some big events in the larger story. But here is the portion where they are planning to celebrate Qrow's 4 months of sobriety.

The day passed with fun and celebration. Unbeknown to Qrow, Clover, Tai and Ruby put together an impromptu celebration for Qrow and his 4 months of being sober. Tai had fun getting to know Clover during the day while setting up this whole event. Tai felt that Clover had feelings for Qrow and when he asked Clover outright, Clover blushed but admitted to having a crush on Qrow. But he also let it slip that he didn’t have much experience with relationships, as most of his relationships when he was younger, had been fake due to his semblance. 

Tai inquired more, “What is your semblance?”

“Qrow never told you?”

“Qrow and I don’t really talk much. When the CCT came back up, the girls dragged him into the conversation with me, otherwise, I would not have known he was still with them.”

“Oh, well my semblance is good fortune.”

Tai froze. “Are you kidding me?”

“No, that is my semblance.”

“What are the odds that he meets you in Atlas and that you have opposite semblances?”

“On my end, pretty high, I would assume.”

Tai laughs. “You know what, you are perfect for him, regardless of what he says. I have never seen Qrow this….normal. I know that his sobriety is a huge part of his new normal, but I feel like he is smiling more. Maybe that is because of you.”

“Thanks for that vote of confidence.” He pauses as he and Tai are making food for dinner to celebrate and he helps by grabbing supplies and getting Tai what he needs so that Tai can cook unhindered. “I just wish that I could figure him out. He flirts back with me but only occasionally. I can’t even tell if it is just because our semblances are inverses of each other or if he actually has feelings for me or if it because of his sobriety, that he seems happier. I keep focusing my semblance on him so that I know what to say or do, or when I try and read him but I feel like he is pushing back each time, afraid of what might happen.”

“Can you blame the guy? He has been considered a curse by many people who never saw past his semblance. He also doesn’t like putting those the cares about in harm's way.”

“No I don’t blame him. But considering even I had my own problems with people faking friendships and caring, all to try and increase their own luck because of me.” He pauses. “I haven’t even told him how bad it was back then and how I felt that my semblance was a curse and I almost…” Clover tried not to relive his past verse remembering it, but it was hard with regard to this part of his history. He felt so frustrated that he couldn't let it just stay in the past.

Tai noticed that Clover had stopped moving was looking at the floor. “Almost what?”

“Nothing.” Clover tried to brush it aside, as he was so frustrated with himself. And why was he telling Tai of all people.

“Ohhh noooo. You need to finish that sentence. You brought it up and I need to know that you are not going to take Qrow down with you.”

“Because it felt like a curse, I almost killed myself, okay!” Clover spoke with anger, mostly at himself and a bit louder than usual and Tai was stunned. However, Qrow had walked in the back door to hear that last thing that was said.

“You what?” Clover turned to see Qrow and all color left Clover's face. 

Tai was finishing up one of the dishes for dinner and pulled the pot off the stove. “I think I will go check on the kids.” And he walked out the back door.

Clover could not bring himself to look up and meet those red eyes. He knew that Qrow was staring at him. Qrow walked over to Clover and gave him a hug, saying nothing. Qrow felt like he was comforting one of the kids about a painful memory. But this was different. This was bigger than that. Clover hugged back and started to quietly cry on Qrow's shoulder. They just stood there like that for a few minutes as Clover cried on Qrow's shoulder. It was the most vulnerable and intimate that they had been since they had met. Despite Clover’s embarrassment, he didn’t mind being vulnerable with Qrow. If he could share this part of him with Qrow, then everything else, including his own inexperience with relationships, would be a piece of cake.

Clover calmed down and pulled away from Qrow. “Will you tell me what happened?” Qrow asked. He had no intention of telling Clover that he knew a good portion of Clover’s history because DD had pulled his file back when they all thought Clover was dead. The miracles of Atlas tech, as it were, saved his life, just like they had Ironwood’s.

“I want to...but if I do, you have to tell me about how you handled others' opinions of your semblance growing up.”

“Deal. Let's go upstairs so that Tai can come back here and keep cooking. He would kill me if I interfere with dinner.” Qrow opened the back door and spotted Tai lean up against the house, just two feet away. “Uh, give me another minute and then you can come back in.” 

Tai smirked, “Was it that good?”

Qrow rolled his eyes “Why do you always go there?”

“Because it’s fun messing with you.” Tai paused “So was it?”

“Let me just lock you out of the house now.”

Tai panicked when Qrow started looking for the lock on the door, considering the meal he was preparing. “Okay, I give.”

Qrow smirked at Tai and then closed the door behind him. Then Clover and Qrow walked up the stairs to the room that they would be staying, which was, in fact, the room that Qrow used to live in. It was almost like a small apartment, as it had its own private bathroom and a small table in the center of the room, with four chairs, as well as a full-size bed.

Qrow sat down at the small table in the middle of the room and gestured for Clover to sit in the chair next to him.

Clover sat down and sighed. It was now or never. “Once I recognized what my semblance was, it started to become more common knowledge in Atlas that I was good luck. I had to learn to deal with lots of fake people who wanted to be in my life because I gave them good luck. I was used by people and expected to be perfect because I had good luck. Good luck doesn’t mean that I am perfect at anything. Far from it. I am a terrible cook. Helping Tai was the closest to cooking that I have done in ages.” He cleared his throat. “I am not perfect. I sometimes skip workouts on busy days, I don’t like salad and well…I am not good with relationships outside of work.”

Qrow didn’t say anything but just continued to watch Clover as he described the trauma that he went through while growing up. “I have been used by many people during my early years because my luck would rub off on them. Then one prominent Atlas family offered to help teach me to control my semblance. I had never been offered this before and I really wanted to believe that it was possible to control it so that no one else could ever pretend to be my friend just because of my good luck.” His breath caught in his throat and he started to cough a couple more times. Qrow had a small refrigerator in his room and hoped it still had bottles of water in it, which it did. He would have to thank Tai for that later. He pulled one out and handed it to Clover. Clover took a sip, cleared his throat and then continued. “Turns out that this family just wanted to use me as well. I was devastated. I had gotten so tired of false friends and broken promises…that my good fortune felt like a curse.” He looks down as he says this last part, quieter than the rest of his story. “Shortly after I learned that this family had no intention to help me, I attempted to kill myself.” He then looked back at Qrow who had tears forming in his eyes. At least one good thing would come out of this, he got to see Qrow being emotional. “I was found by one of the staff of the household and they called for a medical airship, who came and took me to the local hospital. That’s when Ironwood found me. He provided me a new place to live and got me into therapy, as well as huntsman training, to help hone my skills, where I was able to learn how to focus and gain some control over my semblance, on my own terms. Ironwood suggested that I start with the conventional good luck charms like a horseshoe and a rabbit's foot. But I came up with the pin that merged a four-leaf clover, like my namesake and the horseshoe.” 

Qrow reached into his pocket and pulled out the original pin that Qrow had taken with him from their fight on the ice. Clover reached over and placed his hand over the top of Qrows with the pin between the two of their hands “I meant it when I said you could keep this.” Qrow smiled again, but neither of them moved their hands. “The rest was just training and practice. I slowly worked my way up the chain of command. Ironwood personally recruited me when he created the Ace Ops and I was honored, knowing that it was my skill and not my semblance that afforded me this position.” He took another drink of water. “The others respected me for my abilities too. Now, we are not friends like the kids, but we worked well together and there was no animosity about the work we did and who got credit or if one of our semblances helped the mission more than others. That is what I always wanted. To be respected for my ability and the success of the group.” He takes another drink. “But that only took me so far. I still have a hard time connecting with people outside work sometimes, as I still get flashbacks related to my new friends not being genuine. It was hard to find a single person in Atlas who didn’t know about my semblance. Down in Mantle, it was a slightly different story, but having grown up there and then working down there fighting grim, I was easily recognizable and no one wanted anything to do with an Atlas elitist.” He turned his head to look out the window. “When you and the kids came along, it was like a heatwave on the tundra. It seems so natural for all of you to be friends with everyone. I had a hard time not joining in on the fun.” 

Their hands were still together when Clover finished and it felt comfortable for both of them. Like making a pact between close friends. 

Qrow was happy to have heard it directly from Clover verse the dry simple version that he had read off of DDs scroll. He still had tears in his eyes for this man who had felt betrayed by his own semblance. Qrow was such an idiot. As much as it had hit him hard that Clover also struggled with life when Qrow first learned about it. Clover now made it very clear that he didn’t trust his relations with others outside work and for good reason. Qrow had the benefit of having bad luck so those that stayed near him always knew the risks and either didn’t care or cared more for Qrow than their own safety. 

This new revelation about Clover’s past just made Qrow start to feel things that he had not felt in a long time and it started to catch him off guard. Sure he liked being around Clover and working with him and talking to him, especially since the kids were, well kids. Having someone closer to his own age around all of the time was great and a nice change from all the antics that the kids usually got into. Hell, Qrow willingly admitted that he had even flirted with the guy because it was fun. But this, this seemed like a new level, deeper than before and it scared Qrow that he might hurt Clover emotionally, not physically. The one guy in all of Remnant who worried more about the emotional pain that physical pain and he was sitting across from him. What were the odds? About the same as the odds that someone with a bad luck semblance would find someone with good luck semblance. Maybe DD was right about the two of them: ‘You two are perfect inverses for each other, in more ways than one.’

Then he notices that their hands are still together and how it feels to have Clover’s hand and his wrapped around each other. This brought up other concerns about getting more involved with Clover. Qrow didn’t mind having relations with either men or women, but they were mostly one night stands when he was drunk. Now he had been sober almost 4 months and he had not had a single relation since before Ruby had left Patch for Haven. So maybe that had something to do with it. Maybe this was becoming more and it was scary because he was sober now therefore this could be real and not just a fling. Qrow could not imagine the pain that a fling would bring to Clover. Clover had been through enough, he didn’t deserve that. Qrow just shook his head as he tried to clear his mind. He would have to consider all of that other stuff later. He had promised to share his own life story, but he didn’t want to mitigate what Clover had shared with him.

Clover realized that Qrow had sat there for at least a minute after Clover had finished and not said anything. It was a lot to take in. “It’s okay. You don’t need to cry for me.” Clover noted that Qrow still had tears in his eyes. “I am mostly better now. Mind you not perfect but better. Besides, I suspect that your history, despite being different, is similar to the trauma I endured.”

“More like tragedy over trauma.” Qrow stated a matter of fact. “My semblance began to affect little things here and there when I was around 12, broken items, scraps, trips, and falls. Then it got stronger and more dangerous as I got older, where injuries could be life-threatening. Eventually, people started connecting the dots that the one thing all these bad things had in common was me.” He hatted remembering his time with the tribe but it felt necessary for Clover to know. “So I was called bad luck and a bad omen, so most of the tribe avoided me. Despite this, Raven was there with me through it all. She didn’t like the idea that people would pick on me just because of my semblance. We were just kids and I couldn’t control it. She became very protective of me, more so than normal.” He paused for a moment as there was ruckus laughter outside the window. Clearly the kids were having a good time. Qrow smiled at the thought, despite the darker tone of the conversation he was involved in. “Despite my semblance, the tribe trained us to rob and steal from other villages. Later it was decided that me and Raven would go to Beacon to become a huntsman and huntress.” He cleared his throat for the next part. “The purpose of sending us was to help the tribe learn how to kill other huntsmen and huntresses when we went on raids.” Clove gasps at this detail. But Qrow notices that their hands on the table were still there, together, clutching Clover’s pin between them. “We pass the entrance exams with no problem and by luck or coincidence, I found Summer as my partner and Raven found Tai, and the four us made team STRQ. As our team trained together, my semblance got even stronger. After injuring myself and all of them, I tried to push Summer and Tai away, Raven too, but they wouldn’t have it. They were all so stubborn, choosing to put themselves in danger, to keep our team together.” Qrow remembers exactly what all of them told him when he suggested that he leave Beacon. He was amazed at how much all three of them actually cared for him. He didn’t understand why then, but today he does. “Regardless, we got really good. So good that we caught the eye of Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon. Then we started getting special missions and additional training.” 

“Three years at Beacon and we graduated, despite some pretty bad incidences that I caused.” Clover would have to ask about some of those incidences in the future, letting Qrow continue. “And on the day after graduation, Ozpin brought the four of us into his office and told us about the maidens and Salem. He then offered Raven and I something that we could not have predicted.” Clover almost interrupted at this point because he knew what Qrow was about to say but felt better letting Qrow finish. “The ability to give us magic, specifically the ability for us to turn into birds. Raven and I considered it for a few days and then we both agreed. Ozpin performed a special ritual to transfer the power and then we had to learn how to use it….” Qrow stood up, squeezing Clover’s hand in his own. “I think that we need to have a conversation with Oz about how we might be able to transfer Ravin’s power without having to killer her.”

Clover looked a little confused but was aware of the importance of his words and worthy of interrupting his story. Clover stood up too. ”Well let's go talk to Oz.” Only when they started to walk toward the door did their hands come apart, and Qrow put the pin back into his pocket. Both felt like they had lost something, like support or comfort where the other’s hand had once been. Maybe there was something deeper going on between them after all.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is just one snippet of a much larger story. I cranked out over 30K words in 4 days (And I'm not a writer. I'm just a high school math teacher.) So as many writers have said, "The characters just walked into my head and started telling me their story." That is what happened to me. I hope you enjoyed this and I hope to have the confidence to post more of the larger story after today.


End file.
